Container having a lid opening device



Feb. 4, 1969 B. VOGEL CONTAINER HAVING A LID OPENING DEVICE Filed Feb. 13

FIG.1

INVENTOR BRUNO VOGEL BY I ATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,128/ 67 US. Cl. 220-54 Int. Cl. B65d 41/40, 21/04, 7/04 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A container having a lid opening device with a beaded upper edge. The lid has a rim shaped to at least .partly embrace the edge and a line of weakness around and spaced from its periphery permitting an edge strip of said rim to be torn ott. The lid has a recessed center adapted to the internal space of the container and a flange extending from the periphery of the lid forms a finger hold whereby the rim may be torn along the line of weakness to permit removal to open the container. An indentation is formed in the lid between the flange and the rim adapted for cooperation with the bottom edge of the body of another similar container.

The present invention relates to a tear-open container or can, comprising a hollow body or shell and a tear-0d lid with a rim which at least partly embraces a beaded upper edge of the shell.

The conventional tin can has the 'well known drawback of being inconvenient to open and of requiring a tool such as a can opener or key for opening the top. Recently special devices have been developed, particularly in the U.S.A., for conveniently opening a can with the elimination of the need for an opening tool. The result of this development in the USA. has been the appearance of the tear open can on the market. This tear-open can has a top made of a metal that easily tears, usually aluminium, and a defined part of this lid is divided off from the rest by a score line along which the lid can be torn with the aid of a projecting tearing tab. This type of closure has recenly also made its appearance in Europe, particularly for canning baby foods.

However, the cans and containers of this type hitherto kn'own still have the major drawback that once the lid has been torn it is no longer fit for use. Consequently a number of manufacturers have adopted the expedient of providing their cans with a supplementary detachable plastics lid. Naturally this unnecessarily increases the cost of the can.

Another drawback of conventional tear-open cans is that they cannot be stacked without the provision of a supplementary plastics lid formed with a suitable stacking edge. The lack of this facility is a nuisance from the point of view of conventional storage and display in a retailers shop as well :as in the home. Moreover, when such cans are torn open the opening created in the lid is smaller than that of the internal diameter of the rest of the can, unless the latter has a specially enlarged upper end which again causes additional cost to provide.

Furthermore, the tearing tab for opening cans of the conventional kind must be specially made and secured to the lid, whereas it would naturally be far simpler and cheaper if the lid and the tab could be produced from a single blank.

The container or can proposed by the present inven- *tion overcomes these drawbacks. According to the invention the rim of the lid is provided with at least one line of weakness around its periphery, permitting an edge 3,425,592 Patented. Feb. 4, 1969 strip of the rim to be torn olf, and for ensuring continued use of the lid as a push-in lid it has a recessed centre adapted to the internal bore of the body, an inwardly projecting flange forming a finger hold and an annular indentation for stacking formed between the flange and the peripheral rim, the shape and dimensions of said indentation being adapted to cooperate with the bottom edge of the body of another similar container.

An embodiment of the invention is illustratively shown, by way of example, in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a general view of a can about to be torn open,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the tab which forms a grip for tearing off the peripheral edge of the rim of the lid of the can of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view also on an enlarged scale of the construction of the rim of the lid and the upper edge of the shell of the can, and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional representation on the same scale as FIGURE 3 of the construction of the bottom of the can.

The can, of which FIGURE 1 is a general view, comprises a cylindrical body or shell 1, a bottom 2 and a lid 3. In FIGURE 1 the lid 3 is still firmly attached to the top of the shell 1, but the user is about to tear open the lid with his right hand 4 Whilst holding the can in his left hand 5.

The construction of the lid is shown in greater detail in FIGURES 2 and 3. It will be seen by reference to FIGURE 3 that the lid 3 has a recessed centre which fits into the upper end of the cylindrical shell 1. The upper edge of the shell 1 curls over outwards to form a hollow peripheral bead 1a. A rim 3a of the lid embraces the bead 1a nearly completely and thus firmly holds the lid 3 in place on the cylindrical shell. Interposed between the rim 3a of the lid and the hollow bead 1a is an elastic seal 6. Although the seal 6 is shown in FIGURE 3, in some constructions of can, it may be displaced with.

The rim 3a of the lid is provided with a score line 7 (FIGURE 2) extending around its entire periphery. A tearing tab 8 is attached to the rim and is dimensioned so that it can be conveniently gripped between forefinger and thumb. With the aid of this tab 8 the entire bottom edge strip of the rim 3a can be torn pit in the arrowed direction (FIGURES 2 and 3), the lid thus being freed to be lifted off the shell.

FIGURE 3 also shows that the inner edge of the rim of the lid 3 is doubled over to form an inwardly projecting flange 9 which likewise extends around the entire periphery of the lid. The transition between the flange 9 and the curled rim 3a is slightly indented to form a peripheral groove 10 for stacking.

The bottom 2 of the can may be constructed as shown for instance in FIGURE 4. The bottom 2 is preferably slightly recessed into the interior of the shell 1 of the can to permit the projecting bottom edge 11 of the can to engage the above-mentioned groove '10 when the cams are stacked. The co-operation of the edge '11 and the groove 10 locates the stacked cans and prevents them from being laterally dislodged.

The inwardly projecting flange 9 formed in the lid provides a finger hold for lifting the lid and replacing the same after the tear-away edge strip of the rim has been removed. Naturally some alternative suitable shape might be imparted to the lid instead of that shown in the draw ing to permit the lid to be gripped.

Moreover, it may be desirable to provide two parallel score lines 7 to ensure that the marginal strip will tear ofi reliably.

Whereas the shell of the can may consist of any suitable material, such as tin plate, aluminum, plastics, cardboard or glass, the lid 3 should be made of a material that will easily tear. Aluminum has proved to be particularly suitable for this purpose but the use of other easily tearing materials, such as plastics (polyethylene), could be considered.

The tearing tab 8 is preferably ribbed to provide sufficient grip for opening the can.

The above described illustrative example refers to a can of circular cross section. However, the novel tear-off lid can also be provided on cans of say triangular, square, rectangular, elliptical or other cross sections.

The seal 6, when employed, may be a rubber strip and may preferably already have a form corresponding to the rounding of the curled rim 3a before it is placed in position. The seal 6 is adhesively or otherwise affixed to the underside of the rim of the lid and therefore remains on the lid when the edge strip has been torn off. The presence of the seal thus provides a good sealing fit of the lid even after it has been freed. Particularly for aromatic goods, such as coffee, or hydroscopic substances, this is a desirable feature, especially in warm or tropical climates.

Naturally several tearing tabs 8 instead of only one could be provided at different points around the periphery of the lid.

I claim:

1. A container having a lid opening device comprising a hollow body having a beaded upper edge, a lid for said body having a rim shaped to at least partly embrace said edge, said rim having a line of weakness around and said rim adapted for cooperation with the bottom edge of the body of another similar container.

3. A container according to claim 1 wherein a seal is provided between said rim and said beaded upper edge;

4. A container according to claim 3 wherein said seal is adhesively afiixed to the underside of said rim.

5. A container according to claim 1 wherein said flange has the form of a bead produced by doubling back the material of said lid.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,288,342 11/1966 Tinker 220-97 3,347,407 10/1967 Coolidge et al 22054 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE T. HALL, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 220-97, 94, 42 

